Software Patents: Bilski Case before the US Supreme Court
The Bilski Case is to be heard by the US Supreme Court. The case deals with the patent eligibility of marketable ideas and will, according to expert opinion, have great influence on the patenting of software.
On October 30. 2008, a Court of Appeal handed down a ruling on Bilski that since then has been much discussed. Bernard Bilski and Rand Warsaw, founders of the Weatherwise company, wanted in 1997 to protect their ideas on the processing of weather risk data.
The US Patent Board refused to recognize the patent because in their opinion, the idea did not rely on technology and was merely a mental process. Patent lawyers quickly saw the similarities with the situation involving free and open software and attorneys from the US Linux distro Red Hat presented the courts of appeal with a brief of amicus curiae.
Now, after a long legal battle involving numerous appeals, the highest court in the land will decide if patents can be awarded to, for example, financial products, business principles and Internet transactions. In the latest decision on the Bilski case, IBM took sides against the patenting of business ideas, although the company itself owns many such patents. The consultant company, Accenture and American Express both support the idea.
In his blog, law professor Dennis Crouch presents the held positions of larger organizations and companies regarding the Bilski case. His blog shows that companies like Microsoft and Dell want to see patents closely linked to technological utilization, while Yahoo would like the patents to be more broadly defined. The hearing will begin in October. A result is expected early 2010.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
System76 Releases COSMIC Alpha 7
With scores of bug fixes and a really cool workspaces feature, COSMIC is looking to soon migrate from alpha to beta.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 6.0 Available for Installation
The latest release of OpenMandriva has arrived with a new kernel, an updated Plasma desktop, and a server edition.
-
TrueNAS 25.04 Arrives with Thousands of Changes
One of the most popular Linux-based NAS solutions has rolled out the latest edition, based on Ubuntu 25.04.
-
Fedora 42 Available with Two New Spins
The latest release from the Fedora Project includes the usual updates, a new kernel, an official KDE Plasma spin, and a new System76 spin.
-
So Long, ArcoLinux
The ArcoLinux distribution is the latest Linux distribution to shut down.
-
What Open Source Pros Look for in a Job Role
Learn what professionals in technical and non-technical roles say is most important when seeking a new position.
-
Asahi Linux Runs into Issues with M4 Support
Due to Apple Silicon changes, the Asahi Linux project is at odds with adding support for the M4 chips.
-
Plasma 6.3.4 Now Available
Although not a major release, Plasma 6.3.4 does fix some bugs and offer a subtle change for the Plasma sidebar.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 First Release Candidate Now Available
Linux Torvalds has announced that the release candidate for the final release of the Linux 6.15 series is now available.
-
Akamai Will Host kernel.org
The organization dedicated to cloud-based solutions has agreed to host kernel.org to deliver long-term stability for the development team.